Special head with guide openings for braiding machines



-G. 'A. STONE April 29, 1947.

SPECIAL HEAD WITH GUIDE OPENINGS, FOR BRAIDING MACHINES Filed March 5, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR a A 7511! hmim ATTORNEY -G. A. STONE 2,419,741

SPECIAL HEAD WITH GUIDE OPENINGS, FOR BRAIDING MACHINES April 29, 1947.

Filed March 5, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 y INVENTOR ay 75 ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 29, 1947 SPECIAL HEAD WITH GUIDE OPENINGS FOR BRAIDIN G MACHINES George A. Stone, Columbus, Ohio- Application March 5, 1943, Serial No. 478,126

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to insulation and in its more particular aspects, refers to tubular insulatin members and improvements in methods of and apparatus for producing the same.

One of the objects of the present invention is the provision of an improved seamless tubular insulation which may be rapidly produced in a simple, easy manner and which will possess supe rior wearing and insulating qualities when compared with products previously manufactured for similar purposes.

Another of the objectslof the invention rests in the production of tubular insulating members which have inner and outer sheaths formed from intertwined cords, which sheaths are spaced from one. another by loosely entangled fibrous materials, the type of entwining employed in the sheaths being such that a certain amount of expansion or contraction will be secured whereby the product will be suitable for useon tortuous pipes orlconduits of various diameters.

A further object resides in producing tubular insulating material having inner and outer fibrous sheaths spaced by longitudinally extending strands or slivers of loosely entangled fibers, and impregnating the outer sheath with a paintlike rubber composition to fix the exterior surface and render the product waterproof, the coating material also serving to protect the outer sheath from undue wear or premature failure.

A still further object is the provision of a mechanism for forming the tubular insulation which includes a tube forming machine suchas a braidin machine having means for receiving a sheath and grouping a plurality of slivers of loosely bunched or entangled fibers thereabout to form abody and additional means for entwining an outer sheath around the body to retain the slivers of-entangled fibers against separation.

Another objectis the provision of an improved method of forming tubular insulation which embodies the steps of entwining twisted fibrous materials into a tube, placing slivers of loosely entangled fibers around the tube and braiding or otherwise entwining a second seamless tube around the slivers, the operation being continuously performed to produce the insulating tubes in any desired length.

An object also rests in equipping an entwining machine, such as a braiding machine, with a special head having a central guide opening and plurality of additional guide openings surrounding. the first opening. In producing the insulating tubes,- the inner sheath is threadedthrough the 2; central guide and sliversof insulatingfibers are passed through the surrounding guides to produce a body around-Which the outer sheathis Woven. Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from. the following description, referencev being had tothe accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 Ba perspective View of a braiding machine formed in accordance with the present invention and usedin the-production of tubular insulation;

Fig. 2' is a plan viewof guide means embodied in themachine shown in-Fig, 1;

Fig. 3 isavertical sectional view taken through v the guideshown inF-ig. 1 on-the'plane indicated by the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a longitudinal sectional-view taken throughsa piece of tubular insulation-formed on the braiding machine shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a vertical sectional view taken through the former'ring of themachine and the insulating tube during 7 formation thereof and Fig. dis a perspective view of a piece of the improved tubular insulation.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, the numeral 20 designatesthe braiding machine in its entirety. The machine 20-:includes aframe '21 havin aring-like platformilin which apair of race ways-23 areformedfor the reception of carriers-24. The latter members receive bobbins on which yarns or cords: 25 formed of spun-mineral matter are wound.

3-5 In the centerof-the' space enclosed bythe platform 221s positioneda guide head 26- which in this instance is formed of sheet metal and includesinner andouter walls 2'1 and. 2B--having frusto-conical. forms. These walls are maintained inspaeediconcentric relationship by aplurality of circumferentiallyspaced, radially extending webs 29 which togetherwith the-inneran-d outer walls-27! and-28y form circularly arranged guide openingstl]; The interiorof the inner frustoconical head 2 it receives aipair of spacedwebs -3l between-which apair ofstrips-3-2 are secured. These strips-are parallellyarranged and cooperate with the webs.3-l -to-.=form acentral guide way 33'in the: head .26: Thelrelationiofithe head 26 to the platform2Z -ismaintained 'by-connecting the inner ends of braces 34 to the head and the outer ends to the platform-or other portions of the frame.

Above the guide headMZB- the frame of the machine includes a plurality of cross rods -35--on aiia'iei which the take-up gear 35 is supported. This part of the machine has a depending bracket 31 for supporting a former device 38 and a braid guide 39. One of the rods 35 is positively driven and in registration with the former 38, it is equipped with a take-up roll 49. Other rolls 4| cooperate with the roll 40 to assist in pulling the finished insulation through the former.

As illustrated in Fig. 1, the raceways 23 in the platform 22 are formed of a plurality of alternately arranged curved sections which cross or intersect one another at regularly spaced points as at 43. Beneath the platform 22 are a plurality of intermeshing gears 44 which have cam slots 45 provided therein for the reception of followers, not shown, mounted on the lower ends of the carriers 24.

When power is applied to the gears 44, the cam slots 45 impart movement to the carriers 24 causing them to traverse the raceways 23. Certain of the carriers move in one direction while the rest move in the opposite direction. This crossing and recrossing of the carriers causes strands of yarn drawn from the bobbins disposed on the carriers to be braided into a tubular form.

Prior to initiating operation of the machine, one end of a previously braided tube 41 is insorted in the lower end of the center guide-way 33 of the head 26 and drawn upwardly through the guide-way and former to the take-up rolls 40 and 4!. A plurality of slivers or strands 49 of loosely entangled mineral fibers are also drawn through the outer guides and extended along the tube 4? to the take-up rolls. When these steps have been completed, the loose ends of the yarns 25 from the bobbins are passed through the former 38 and extended to the take-up rolls.

It will be seen that when power is applied tothe machine, the take-up rolls draw the tube 41, the slivers 49 and the yarns 25 through the former 38. As these materials move upwardly, the bobbins are moved along the raceways in the platform with the result that the yarns 25 are braided into a tube 50 which surrounds the tube 41 and the slivers 49 to prevent separation thereof.

Due to the type of raceways provided in the platform and the direction of movement of the bobbins, a twill type of weave is imparted to the material of the tube 50. The inner sheath or tube 41 is also preferably produced with this type of weave so that the insulating tube resulting from the operations will possess a certain degree of versatility in that it may be applied to straight or tortuous conduits and which vary in diameter.

During the formation of the outer sheath, the cords 25 are intertwined and drawn together, as the approach the forming ring 38, until the sheath is finally formed. As shown in Fig. 5, the cords 25, as well as the slivers 49, have rough or fuzzy surfaces caused by fine fibers 5| projectingtherefrom. It will be apparent that as the cords 25 are drawn together the fibers projecting from the slivers 49 are caught therebetween and entangled with the fibers thereon until the slivers are effectively anchored in the sheath 59. Due to this tying action, the slivers will retain their places in the outer sheath regardless of the position in which the insulation is placed and no thin or inefficient spots will develop.

After the insulation has been produced on the machine, it is suitable for use without further operations being performed thereon except to sever pieces of desired length from the continuous strip leading from the machine. It has been found, however, that for some uses it is desirable to treat the exterior with a protective coating. One method of finishing the article is to impregnate the fibers of the outer sheath or tube with a paint-like substance including latex or other rubber-like compounds. After this material dries, the outer covering will be water proofed and, due to the coating on each individual fiber, the covering will be protected against wear caused by engagement with adjacent bodies or relative movements of the fibers themselves.

Through the use of the machine and the method set forth, the tubular insulation may be produced in continuous strips of any desired length. The inner sheath 41 and the slivers 49 may be stored on reels or in any suitable containers prior to use, the containers being placed beneath the braiding machine and the material drawn therefrom as needed.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that a novel machine and method has been provided for forming tubular insulation in continuous strip form; that the insulation possesses a high degree of flexibility and is markedly efficient due to the fact that loosely entangled fibers are disposed between the inner and outer sheaths. It should also be apparent that the filler between the inner and outer sheaths is in the form of long slivers which are coextensive with the inner and outer sheaths.

It has been found desirable, although not essential, to use mineral fibers such as spun glass in the formation of both sheaths as well as the,

filler therebetween. The fibers used in the sheaths are twisted rather tightly compared to the fibers of the filler material whereby to lend strength and wear resisting qualities to the sheaths produced therefrom.

While the form of embodiment of the present invention as herein disclosed constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, all coming within the scope of the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. In a braiding machine, the combination of means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage, a frustoconical wall surrounding said central passage, and spaced walls disposed between said central passage and said frusto-conical wall, said walls forming a plurality of guide passages grouped in a ring around said central passage.

2. In a braiding machine, the combination of means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage, a frustoconical wall surrounding said central passage, and spaced radially extending walls between said central passage and said frusto-conical wall, said walls forming a plurality of guide passages grouped in a ring around said central passage.

3. In a braiding machine, the combination of means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage, spaced frusto-conical walls concentrically arranged about said central passage, and radially extending walls in the space between said frusto-conical walls, said radial walls separating said space into a plurality of converging guide passages.

4. In a braiding machine, the combination of means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage with a rectangular cross section, the length of the rectangle being greater than the width, spaced concentric walls surrounding said central passage, and means dividing the space between said concentric walls into a plurality of passages surrounding said central passage, one of said passages being disposed in registration with each narrow side of said central passage.

5. In a braiding machine, the combination with means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage, said passage having a cross section of greater length than width, said guide head having a plurality of passages disposed in annular order about the central passages, certain of said annularly arranged passages being disposed alongside and outwardly of a narrow side of the central passage.

6. In a braiding machine, the combination with means for forming tubular insulation comprising a guide head having a central passage, said passage having a cross section of greater length than width, said guide head having a plurality of passages disposed in annular order about the central passage, one of said annularly arranged passages being disposed alongside and. outwardly of one of the narrow sidesof the central passage and another of said annularly arranged passages being disposed alongside and outwardly of the 

